Just like that, the first event of the 2018 season has come to an end. The final day of competition brought great weather and solid skiing. Men’s slalom was filled with excitement, with a couple big crashes and multiple skiers running deep into the 10.25-meter line.

Freddie Winter started off the trend with 3.5 buoys at 10.25. Winter was only the second skier on the water, giving the rest of the field a big challenge to surpass his score. Will Asher was first, finessing his way through 10.25 before barely missing 6 ball, leaving him in the lead. Asher would hold the lead despite valiant efforts from the rest of the field, including a 2 at 10.25 from Nick Adams and Stephen Neveu’s score of 3 at 10.25. In the end, Nate Smith, last off the dock, displayed nerves of steel running 5 ½ buoys at 10.25.

Women’s Overall took a dramatic turn during the trick event. While all three women put up quality slalom scores, Giannina Bonneman had an early fall in her second trick pass, her hands pass. Giannina fell on third 540, the handle just slipping through her hands as she completed the spin. Jacinta Carroll took full advantage of the opportunity, moving up into 2nd place. Meanwhile, Natalia Berdnikava held firm to her position as Overall favorite, winning the event on her first jump.

On the contrary, the two-man race for the Men’s Overall title came down to the wire. Despite taking an early lead with wins in both Slalom and Trick, Dorien Llewellyn left the door open open for Joel Poland to make a comeback in Jump. Llewellyn looked solid, yet unsatisfied with his 58.7-meter jump and had to watch Poland chase down a score of 61.9 meters in order to take the title. Poland put up a new personal best of 59.7 the day before and looked to be capable of taking the title. After his second jump of 58.4 meters, the whole event came down to the last jump. The crowd fell silent as Poland came off the top of the ramp, waiting to see whether his jump would be enough. As the score came through, Dorien threw his hands up in triumph and breathed a sigh of relief, he had won the Latrobe City International Overall.

The skiers will take some time off to recuperate before getting back on the water in preparation for the Moomba Masters starting Friday, March 9 through Monday, March 12. Moomba has always been a favorite for skiers all around the world. Be sure to follow all the action here on World Water Skiers and on the web cast.

Trevor Pratt gives a video History Of Latrobe Valley Water Ski Club.

The first day of the 2018 season has been completed. The Pro Slalom Skiers showed some difficulty with the 10.75-meter line. Only Stephen Neveu and Nate Smith were able to complete a full 6 buoys, both running 2 at the 10.25-meter line. Next in the results for Day 1 was a big pile up of skiers with 4 at 10.75 meters. Nine skiers advance to the finals on Day 2.

The Overall event produced some big scores, with Joel Poland of Great Britain accounting for a large percentage of them. Poland tied his personal best in slalom with 4 at the 10.75-meter line, while breaking his best scores in tricks and jump with scores of 10320 and 59.7 meters respectively. His trick score proved to be an unofficial British national record. He finished the day as the leader heading into the finals with Dorien Llewellyn not too far behind in second. With such a great race shaping up it was unfortunately Felipe Miranda did not make it due to visa issues and we hope to see him at Moomba.

In women’s Overall, Natalia Berdnikava put up solid scores in all three events, rounding out the day with the lead. Giannina Bonneman currently sits in second while Jacinta Carroll is in third heading into the final day of competition. With all three girls skiing so strong we will see this race be fierce in the finals.

The day finished off with a three pass slalom challenge, with each competitor only being able to ski three passes regardless if they ran all three. Strategy came into play and saw Benjamin Stadlebauer and Will Asher begin with 12 metes, then opting up to 10.75, before running 3 at 10.25 meters for the win.

The final day of competition is set to begin at 9:15 AEST with Slalom, followed once again by Tricks and finishing the day off with Jump.

For results, tomorrow schedule and link to live webcast – https://worldwaterskiers.com/tournament/18aus316/

The stage is set for the beginning of the 2018 pro Waterski season at the Latrobe Valley Waterski Club on Lake Narracan in Yallourn, Australia. The first event of the year will showcase the top Slalom and Overall skiers from all over the world. In addition to the pros, Australian youth skiers will be competing in a last chance qualifier for an invitation to the prestigious Moomba Masters next weekend in Melbourne, Australia.

Not all of the top skiers were able to arrive for the event. Among them was Felipe Miranda. The reigning World Champion in Overall could only secure a flight to New Zealand before being stopped due to problems with his VISA. The situation should be easily resolved by Moomba, yet his presence will be missed at Latrobe.

Many of the pro skiers have arrived over the last three days and have been getting accustomed to the site. Both veterans and rookies alike have commented on the quality of the lake, which offers a soft feel to the water. Yet, there are some challenges as well. While great scenery, the high rock walls on the end of the lake produce some backwash waves, which are noticed the most in Jump. The pros were not phased in the slightest by any potential challenges as the local club has been instrumental in planning everything down to the optimal boat paths to ensure the best conditions possible. After finishing up on the water, Dorien Llewellyn was tired from jet lag, but in good spirits for the weekend. “I’m just so pumped to be in Australia for the first time,” he said, “I can’t wait to see how everyone is skiing and get back to competing against the best in the World.”

The event begins at 9:15 AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time) with Slalom, followed by Tricks, and finishing the day with Jump and a 3 pass slalom challenge.